We drove to western Virginia on the day after Christmas - leaving Ziggy and Zoe at home where they much prefer to be. Zoe has a heart condition for more than 2 years now and needs to get two pills once a day. We are able to get them into her without much difficulty, but others have more trouble. We found someone who we thought would work out, so we left feeling fairly comfortable. Our first night away was spent in Harrisonburg, VA. It was a rainy day to go there, so we did little other than drive. The next day was bright and sunny so we drove to the Skyline Drive and spent quite awhile on there admiring the views. The temps were in the 60's- far from the freezing mark warnings we saw signs about. We then go on the highways again and drove on to Asheville, NC to see the Biltmore Estate built by one of the Vanderbilt family members in the 1890's. It is still the largest private residence in the USA. The Estate is now a family corporation that depends on tourism and some product made on the estate. The house is very impressive, while clearly "over the top" in many respects, the decoration and art works are impressive. We visited the gardens too- even though they are not growing now- the conservatory was great. The meals were great- it was worth the visit.
We drove to Charleston and arrived early enough to take a good walk around much of the old section of the city - it was very pleasant to see, but there were too many other tourists. We had a great dinner at "Hank's" and sat at the community table and spoke to a couple from Tenn. for awhile. Jim Walked in the morning and found an old cemetery to wander around in and photograph. He found the burial place of John C. Calhoun and noticed stones with names of 1 or 2 signers of either the Declaration of Independence or members of the constitutional convention.
We spent 3 nights on Tybee Island- outside Savannah- mostly visiting old friends and relaxing from the driving. We spent half a day walking in old Savannah and were very impressed. It is a beautiful area with lots of character and interesting architecture, though, it is unclear that the city really sees the potential of the place. We saw the fireworks on the beach of Tybee and Janet went in the water with the local version of the Polar bears on New Years' Day.
We made the long drive to Sarasota next. We arrived just after dark and settled in and rested in the relative warmth of FL.
"The Spanish Inquisition"
One evening we went to a restaurant that is highly regarded and rather expensive. While eating, a couple came in and sat nearby. While speaking to the waitress the man said he is from Spain and the woman from Britain. While reviewing the menu choices the man asked question anfter question about where the beef is from, where the lamb is from and how its much better when it from Spain or New Zealand, and question after question about how each is prepared. Finally, it had to be declared "The Spanish Inquisition"! Since the woman was from the UK, the thought that some Monty Python characters would soon jump out and say "no one expects the Spanish Inquisition!".
Unfortunately, Zoe refused to cooperate by taking here pills ,but we were fortunate that a good friend was able to help catch her and take her to the vet so she got her pills each day. Meanwhile Ziggy got to stay home, though he might have been a bit lonesome. Jim returned home to rescue Zoe from her prison and find that she settled down quickly once home.
We drove to Charleston and arrived early enough to take a good walk around much of the old section of the city - it was very pleasant to see, but there were too many other tourists. We had a great dinner at "Hank's" and sat at the community table and spoke to a couple from Tenn. for awhile. Jim Walked in the morning and found an old cemetery to wander around in and photograph. He found the burial place of John C. Calhoun and noticed stones with names of 1 or 2 signers of either the Declaration of Independence or members of the constitutional convention.
We spent 3 nights on Tybee Island- outside Savannah- mostly visiting old friends and relaxing from the driving. We spent half a day walking in old Savannah and were very impressed. It is a beautiful area with lots of character and interesting architecture, though, it is unclear that the city really sees the potential of the place. We saw the fireworks on the beach of Tybee and Janet went in the water with the local version of the Polar bears on New Years' Day.
We made the long drive to Sarasota next. We arrived just after dark and settled in and rested in the relative warmth of FL.
"The Spanish Inquisition"
One evening we went to a restaurant that is highly regarded and rather expensive. While eating, a couple came in and sat nearby. While speaking to the waitress the man said he is from Spain and the woman from Britain. While reviewing the menu choices the man asked question anfter question about where the beef is from, where the lamb is from and how its much better when it from Spain or New Zealand, and question after question about how each is prepared. Finally, it had to be declared "The Spanish Inquisition"! Since the woman was from the UK, the thought that some Monty Python characters would soon jump out and say "no one expects the Spanish Inquisition!".
Unfortunately, Zoe refused to cooperate by taking here pills ,but we were fortunate that a good friend was able to help catch her and take her to the vet so she got her pills each day. Meanwhile Ziggy got to stay home, though he might have been a bit lonesome. Jim returned home to rescue Zoe from her prison and find that she settled down quickly once home.
